Depending on where Iowa farmers live, they could receive between $40 and $79 an acre in the Trump administration's second ag bailout, expected to soften the blow from an ongoing trade war with China.

Nationally, farmers could receive $15 to $150 per acre for crops grown this year, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Thursday.

In May, President Donald Trump announced a $16 billion trade assistance package for farmers. Last year, Trump spent $12 billion to offset damage caused by trade disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union.

Mark Recker, a northeast Iowa farmer, said growers support the president's work to get a better trade with China, and appreciate the assistance.

But, he added, "we need to see results" in hammering out new deals.

"These mitigation payments help temporarily, but they don't cover the long-term damage we're sustaining," said Recker, chairman of the Iowa Corn Growers Association board. "It's hard to put a number on that, but it's a really big one."

The U.S. Agriculture Department will provide aid to dairy and hog producers; corn, soybean and other row-crop farmers; and cherry, almond and other specialty crop growers.

This year's payments, provided county by county, will be the same for growers, regardless of the crop planted, said Under Secretary Bill Northey in a call with reporters.

Some growers were unhappy last year with broad differences in payments. For example, farmers raising corn received a penny per bushel, while soybean producers snagged a $1.65.

The flat rate eliminates inequality between crops, officials said, and the agency tried to avoid large payment disparities between neighboring counties.

"Aside from doing individual calculations for every producer in the country, there are going to be some misalignments, probably, in this program somewhere," U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters Thursday.

"We spent hours and hours and hours trying to mitigate and reduce any disparities that were outstanding," he said. But "there will be disparities. They are impossible to overcome."

Some counties, for example, might have more pasture acres for grazing cattle instead of crops, Naig said. "I think USDA did a better job of rounding the edges and applying some consistency across the state," he said.

Northey said the federal government will provide $15 an acre for farmers who planted cover crops because they were unable to grow corn, soybeans or other crops due to rain, cold and other adverse weather.

It's unclear how many acres might not have been planted in Iowa and across the nation due to poor weather conditions.

Farmers can begin signing up for the payments Monday.

Iowa and U.S. farmers need the cash infusion, said Chad Hart, an Iowa State University agriculture economist.

Farm income this year is projected to be nearly 50% below a 2013 high.

"When you think about the farm economy, we have struggled for several years, even before the trade disputes," Hart said. "This injection of cash is anxiously being awaited by farmers."

Growers could begin receiving payments by mid- to late August, said Northey, Iowa's former agriculture secretary.

USDA officials said farmers could receive up to $14.5 billion direct payments paid in three rounds. Half of the total assistance provided in the first checks.

Officials will assess market conditions before releasing the second and third payments.

This year, the agency didn't include trade damage from Canada and Mexico, which has lifted retaliatory tariffs, given a proposed new trade deal, said Rob Johannson, USDA’s chief economist.

Perdue acknowledged Tuesday that times continue to be tough for U.S. farmers.

"It's not a very rosy picture now," Perdue said, adding that difficult growing conditions this year could hurt yields, further depressing the financial outlook.

The White House's Office of Management and Budget is assessing USDA's proposed $3 billion disaster payment plan, Perdue said. Farmers could potentially sign up for assistance by the end of August.

Naig said the disaster aid is important in Iowa, where farmers across the state struggled with flooding, especially along the Missouri River.

It could boost payments to farmers who are unable to plant a crop as well as provide assistance to growers who lost thousands of bushels of stored corn and soybeans.

Caps raised

The U.S. Agriculture Department raised the limit on how much farms or farm entities could receive under the new program from $125,000 in each of three categories to $250,000.

Total payments are capped at $500,000. Last year, the cap was $375,000.

Loopholes in USDA's programs have enabled farmers and managers with little on-farm contact to exceed the cap. In Iowa, for example, two farms received more than $600,000 in payments in the first aid package.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.